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Microsoft's Hypervisor Goes Solo

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced plans to sell its virtualization technology
on its own, a reversal of its earlier plans. While most people will still probably
get Microsoft's hypervisor bundled with Windows Server 2008, selling it separately
will let them use it on servers that may be running Linux or something other
than Windows.

Microsoft's hypervisor virtualization layer has been a widely anticipated component
of Windows Server 2008. Formerly code-named Viridian, it's now
called Hyper-V. Whether bundled with the Standard, Enterprise or Datacenter
versions of Windows Server 2008, or by itself, Microsoft's Hyper-V will sell
for $28.

While Microsoft may not make a ton of money selling Hyper-V on its own at $28
a pop, doing so is an important strategic move. The ability to run Hyper-V on
non-Windows Server 2008 servers could help Microsoft do battle in the increasingly
competitive arena of virtualization.

How do you virtualize? Are you standardized on Microsoft's tools? VMware? Citrix?
Something else? Let me know at llow@redmondmag.com.